A. Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention relates generally to structural support apparatuses configured to support a recreational vehicles, trailer or the like. More specifically, this invention relates to support jack systems having a downwardly extending, telescoping leg used to support a fifth wheel trailer or the like. Even more specifically, this invention relates to an apparatus for assisting the user with lowering and raising the telescoping leg.
B. Background
Many people utilize recreational vehicles to spend time camping, attending sporting events or traveling from one place to another. For purposes of this disclosure, recreational vehicles include those that connect to and are towed behind another vehicle, such as a car or truck, that has a ball and socket trailer hitch, a goosneck coupler or a fifth wheel coupling. When the recreational vehicle is disconnected from the tow vehicle, a set of jacks are utilized to support the recreational vehicle above the ground or other support surface on which it rests. The most common types of support jacks, which are typically installed by the recreational vehicle manufacturer, are of the electric, pneumatic or hydraulic telescoping type having a stationary outer tube connected to the bottom of the recreational vehicle, a telescopically engaged support leg and a foot pad at the bottom end of the leg. The support leg extends downwardly and retracts back up, relative to the outer tube, to lower the foot pad to the support surface or raise it back toward the outer tube. Typically, the support jacks attach, often permanently, to the frame of the recreational vehicle.
One of the most popular types of recreational vehicle is the fifth wheel trailer, which has an overhang portion that extends forward of the main body of the trailer and a gooseneck component that attaches to and extends forward of the overhang portion. The fifth wheel trailer gooseneck connects to a fifth wheel coupler located on the tow vehicle, which is commonly in the bed of a pickup truck. The support jacks are attached to the bottom of the overhang portion of the fifth wheel trailer. When the fifth wheel trailer is being towed by the tow vehicle, the gooseneck connects to the coupler and the support jacks are in their raised or retracted position. The retractable leg and foot pad components of the jack are held in their retracted position by a locking pin that passes through both the telescoping support leg and the stationary outer tube.
When the operator desires to disconnect the fifth wheel trailer from the tow vehicle, he or she first lowers the leg and foot pad portion of the support jacks to their extended support position against the ground surface by crawling or reaching under the fifth wheel trailer's overhang portion and removing the locking pin. Removing the pin allows the operator to lower, by hand, the support leg and foot pad until they extend downwardly against the ground. Once the foot pad is resting on the ground, the operator reinserts the locking pin to secure the support leg in its extended position. Because the standard fifth wheel trailer has a pair of support jacks, this same procedure is repeated for the other side of the trailer. Then, he or she operates the powered jack assembly to raise the gooseneck off of the tow vehicle coupler. To reconnect the fifth wheel trailer to the tow vehicle coupler, the operator first positions the tow vehicle under the gooseneck to place the coupler under the gooseneck connector and then operates the powered jack assembly to lower the connector onto the coupler, thereby placing the weight of the trailer on the tow vehicle. The operator then raises the support jacks by crawling or reaching under the fifth wheel trailer overhang, pulling the locking pin from the support jack, raising the support leg and foot pad by hand to their retracted position and then reinserting the pin to secure the leg in its retracted position. This is repeated for the other support jack.
As fifth wheel trailers are primarily utilized in outdoor settings, it is not unusual for water, snow, dirt, mud or other elements on the ground to be an issue with the process of crawling or reaching under the fifth wheel trailer overhang to raise or lower the support jacks to their retracted or extended positions. Besides the mud or other elements, the support jack components that are handled by the operator also tend to have road grime or other materials on them, which is typically transferred to the operator's hands, clothes and/or gloves. For many people, crawling or reaching under a fifth wheel trailer overhang to disengage or engage the support jacks is at least somewhat uncomfortable and, for some, very difficult. In addition to the process being generally dirty and uncomfortable, crawling or reaching under the overhang can result in injury to the operator's back or head.
Over the years, various devices have been proposed to make the process of raising, lowering or leveling a trailer cleaner, less uncomfortable and safer. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 7,097,158 to BarBaruolo discloses a lift mechanism for fifth wheel trailers that comprises an L-shaped main tube that attaches to the ram tube, a handle that is attached to one end of a cable passing through a hollow telescoping tube which is clamped to the main tube, an eye bolt that interconnects the opposite end of the cable to the foot pad and a pulley over which the cable passes. To raise the foot pad, the operator pulls the handle and cable to move the foot pad to its retracted position and then locks it in place with the locking pin. Once raised, the telescoping tube is collapsed for storage. While this patent does generally describe a device for assisting the operator in raising and lowering the support leg and foot pad without having to be under the trailer to accomplish this task, it does so in a somewhat complicated manner. In addition, the device does not eliminate the requirement for the operator to crawl or reach under the trailer to remove and reinsert the locking pin.
Various other devices are described in the prior art. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,299,829 to Rivers, Jr., et al. describes a pneumatic system for raising and lowering the landing legs on a semi trailer. In one embodiment, the system includes a remote control unit which has a radio receiver that operates solenoids in a landing gear valve to control which air line supplies the pneumatic motor with air to control the direction of rotation of the motor in order to raise or lower the landing gear. U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,493 to Schwartz, et al. describes a hydraulic lifting device for a gooseneck trailer. The device uses a remote control unit that is hard-wired to an electric motor or a hydraulic pump and a solenoid in a hydraulic valve to control the direction of fluid flow and, hence, the raising or lowering of the trailer. U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,184 to Mena discloses a landing gear mechanism having telescoping legs with locking pins activated by solenoids to lock the legs in position. The legs are operated by an electric motor from a control unit which has relays that activate sensors on the legs which detect if the legs are in locking position. The patent mentions that the control may be activated by remote control. U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,267 to Busby teaches a system for raising and lowering the landing gear legs on a semi trailer which uses an air motor supplied with compressed air from the tractor as the power unit for raising and lowering the legs. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,176,391 and 5,312,119 to Schneider describe a hydraulic leveling system for a recreational vehicle which employs three hydraulic jacks under control of a microprocessor controlled circuit. The system includes a pneumatic air bag system and indicators to show when the parking brake is released or when the transmission is shifted. U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,379 to Krause, et al. shows an automatic leveling system for a recreational vehicle that uses four hydraulic jacks and has a control pad wired to a microprocessor for controlling the leveling system manually.
While the foregoing patents generally describe apparatuses and systems that generally provide some benefits for raising or leveling a trailer, they have not heretofore effectively solved the problem of the operator of a fifth wheel trailer or other recreational vehicle having to reach under a portion of the trailer to lower and raise the support jacks and then secure it in its raised or lowered position. What is needed, therefore, is an improved apparatus for assisting an operator with raising and lowering, and then securing in the raised or lowered position, the leg of a support jack utilized with a recreational vehicle such as a fifth wheel trailer. The preferred apparatus should allow the operator to raise or lower and secure the support jack leg without crawling under, bending down or reaching below a portion of the trailer. Preferably, the apparatus should be configured for the operator to be at the side of the trailer when raising, lowering and securing the leg of a support jack. The preferred apparatus should be simple to install, easy to operate and adaptable to a variety of different configurations of support jacks.